Money No Object: Whether Real Or Not, This Buick GS Stage II Is A Legend Of It’s Time


Money No Object: Whether Real Or Not, This Buick GS Stage II Is A Legend Of It’s Time

Musclecar legends are always popular, but proving or disproving them always stirs up the heated debates of whether or not things actually happened, whether or not the individuals claiming to know the truth really do, and whether or not the vehicle in question is the real deal or is just a very well-done tribute to someone’s memory. In the case of Buick, you wouldn’t think that there would be much to speculate on. Buick got into the GM A-body performance game with the Gran Sport, and really didn’t heel too hard to the traditional muscle car game. The Skylark-based Gran Sports were power packages that were dressed down…outside of badging the the knowledge of what was under the hood, they weren’t all that much different from the run-of-the-mill cars. The 1970 Buick GSX was the closest they came, but even that was pretty demure by the standards of the day…think about GTO Judges, wildly colored Mopars and the like and you’ll see what I mean. 

But there was one legend that even to this day, seems to be up in the air: the 1970 Stage II cars. There are clones, but as far as real cars, none are known to exist. After running a feature on a Stage II recreation, Hemmings received a letter from a Buick engineer who clarified what happened to one of the potentially two Stage II prototypes: it was based on a GSX, had been on a tour out west, and after the decision was made to not greenlight the package, the car was returned to Michigan where a driver kicked a rod out of the block. The car was scrapped and the hood was donated to what you are looking at here: the Jones/Benisek car that was campaigned in NHRA and AHRA events throughout the 1970s.

Now, to repeat: this is not the Stage II prototype. This is the red, formerly four-speed equipped press car that went out to magazines for testing purposes. After it’s press-pool days were over, the car was turned into a racer and whether or not it’s got some sneaky-sneaky parts that were never officially sold by Buick is up for debate. I’ve got no proof to offer you. The hood may be the only connection to the prototype. But it’s still an old race car with plenty of history, and other than it’s conversion to an automatic transmission, you’re seeing it as-is, all 162 miles on the clock and all.

And be honest with yourself: even it it was just a Stage 1 455 Buick…would that be such a bad thing?

Mecum Auctions Las Vegas: Lot F135 – 1970 Buick GS


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7 thoughts on “Money No Object: Whether Real Or Not, This Buick GS Stage II Is A Legend Of It’s Time

  1. Loren

    Dave Benisek, 1972 NHRA World Champion. In my first years of going to So. Cal NHRA races as a kid the car was a big enough deal, nice to see it still be around.

  2. john

    the restoration…how many items did they add that are not period correct?? this lessens the value of any car.

  3. jerry z

    Too bad they didn’t change it back to the 4-speed configuration. Couldn’t afford either way though.

    1. Hippy

      Dave Benisek also ran the a Stage 1 1970 that ran C/SA at the same time had Struse-Smith-Welsh prepped NHRA Record Holder ,
      that for several years was a test car, and was featured
      constantly in the pages of Super/Stock & Drag Illustrated magazine.
      Original owner Ted Struse j60 Road Runner 6 BBL car that has been sold several times in the last 10 years. That is when the classes were run off of the National Record . Benisek proceeded to lower the record and made it impossible for anyone to be competitive in C/SA and retired the Buick.
      They then continued to race the RR with a 4 Speed

      Jim

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